


My Love, Deep as the Sea

by fishydwarrows



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - College/University, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Children, Hance - Freeform, M/M, Not Beta Read, Santa Barbara, Sea, Slow Burn, Tails, Transformation, Water, evil taco stands, excessive handholding, good god lets hope i do their relationship justice, hanceome, honestly just playing this by ear, idk - Freeform, idk man i just really like mermaid aus, its hilarious, magic pants, mermaid au, non binary pidge, rip my writing skills, the ocean, they literally cannot handle each other, ummmm also this takes place in CA bc thats where i live so its easy to write about lmao, witch haggar is basically a whaler for mermaids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-07-28 23:18:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7661011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishydwarrows/pseuds/fishydwarrows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hunk is a mermaid, Lance is a human. No, this is not a Little Mermaid AU. It's just a regular Mermaid AU that also happens to involve boys in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So... this is my first Voltron fic... We'll see how it goes
> 
> Don't expect regular updates but probably anticipate illustrations for every chapter once I settle more into the story.  
> Also, Hance is great and we definitely need more content for the tag.
> 
> Please comment and tell me what you think!

Lance stared at the rolling waves. He could taste the sea salt in the breeze of Santa Barbara’s winds.

 

It was his ninth birthday, and he had chosen a trip to the boardwalk aquarium and the beach around it. His older sisters and brother were playing closer to the sand, but Lance was far by the water, near the underside of the boardwalk itself. He didn’t know how long they’d stay so he was trying to make the most of it. 

 

Tugging his jacket sleeves above his elbows, he walked carefully over to one of the large wood poles holding up the boardwalk. He plopped down next to the pole, his swim trunks getting soaked and his knees getting splashed in the process. 

 

Lance stared up at the wood; it was old and worn, but obviously sturdy enough to handle the weight of many cars and people. Alongside, attached to the base, were tiny barnacles and a single orange seastar. He ran his hand tentatively over the creature. It was very pretty. Just then there was a loud splash. 

 

It was a different sound than the crashing of the waves, and Lance looked around wildly. (He had no reason to be nervous- just the knee-jerk reaction of a child with lots of siblings) But, there was no one near him on the beach. The splashing grew louder and in a brilliant connection of sound and thought, Lance looked at the ocean.

 

About a foot away from him was a dark skinned mermaid- or merman- a  _ merperson. _ The fish tailed child had it’s chin on their hands and was staring intently at Lance. There was silence, only interrupted by the distant cries of Lance’s siblings and the crashing of waves on Santa Barbara’s shore. 

  


 

“Um…” Began Lance, but he stopped quickly, the quiet look the fish person was giving him creeped him out.

 

And how do you strike up conversation with a fish that is also a person? 

 

So far, his brain was giving him no ideas.

 

All Lance could remember was that people only turn into mermaids when they come in contact with water- but wait, no, that was just that show that Marci watched on Nickelodeon. 

 

“Uh…” He began again, this time steeling himself to the possibility that the thing would probably just swim away and then he would get in trouble. 

 

“Hi… uh… My name’s Lance,” he said. 

 

The mermaid cocked their head to the side. They were probably deciding if Lance was a threat or not. Or, Lance shivered, whether or not he’d be good to eat. 

 

Lance laughed nervously to himself. “I’m just… I mean, I was… I’m… wow, isn’t the ocean great?” 

 

At this point the mermaid was just staring at Lance openly and silently, and it wasn’t that Lance didn’t appreciate silence now and again, but the poor boy was trying to make some conversation. Fine. If they were gonna give him the silent treatment, then he would too. Lance settled his chin on his hands and stared at the mermaid grumpily. Their tail flicked in and out of the semi-shallow water, it was dark blue and shaped like the Swordfish tail Lance had seen in the Aquarium earlier that day. 

 

“I’m Hunk.” 

 

Lance blinked, “What?”

 

“My name is Hunk,” said the mermaid, “the ocean is pretty great.” 

 

Lance shifted closer to Hunk, aware his clothes were getting even more soaked. 

 

“Are there more of you?” He asked, luckily, Lance had left his sandals by their blanket, so it didn’t really matter if his feet got wet. Hunk nodded, the mermaid scooted closer to Lance and their scales flashed whenever they were hit by the sun. 

 

“I’m not supposed to be out this far,” said Hunk quietly, “But I wanted to see the houses.”

 

“You mean- those over there?” Lance pointed behind him to the rows of homes and tourist sites that lined Santa Barbara beach. 

 

“Yeah,” said Hunk breathlessly, he looked in awe at the simple houses, “I live in a cave.” 

 

“Oh.” 

 

Lance rolled his jacket sleeves even higher. 

 

“I live in a apartment,” he said, “But, we’re moving in two weeks, so I guess I won’t be anymore…” They looked at each other silently, the waves lapped softly against Hunk’s tail and Lance’s ankles. 

 

“Do you like living in your apartment?” Hunk asked softly. 

 

“Yeah…” said Lance, “We have a bunch of succulents on the terrace, and in  _ my  _ room I have an air plant! It only needs watering through a spray bottle, and I have stars on my ceiling- okay, so it’s not  _ my  _ room, I share it with my brother Javier but it’s really great! We have a bunkbed and I’ve got posters from all my favorite movies on my side of the room- on Javi’s its just drawings and paper plates, he’s in theater- but, I got a guitar for my birthday and I’m gonna start learning how to play that, so its in the car right now but when I get home I have the  _ best  _ place to put it in the corner! Oh! My sisters Marci and Jocelyn share a room too! I’m not allowed to go in there very often though… they don’t like it when I look at their jewelry….But…” Lance sighed and brought his knees close to his chest, “We’re moving and I can’t… Mamá got a new job so its impossible for us to stay…” 

 

Hunk shifted closer, Lance couldn’t tell his expression though, his face was pressed close to his knees and his eyes were shut in an attempt to stop himself from crying. He sniffed loudly, here Lance was, telling a mermaid about his home he was going to lose in two weeks, it was absurd. Then, Lance felt surprisingly dry arms wrap around his back and pull him into a hug. Lance felt heat rush to his face and he untangled his arms, returning the embrace.

 

“Thanks,” he said softly. 

 

“You’re welcome,” said Hunk, but it came out more as a muffled grunt since his face was pressed into the soft fabric of Lance’s jacket. 

 

The waves lapped against Lance’s knees. When they pulled away, Hunk’s face was a sort of pink color and Lance’s eyes were tinted red and slightly puffy. Lance took a breath.

 

“So,” he said, cracking a wide grin, “tell about this cave you live in!” They continued on for another half hour, swapping stories of home and culture with Lance chattering about his home in Montecito and Hunk quietly remarking about his cave near the Channel Islands. By the time Lance’s Mamá called for him, his pants were soaked and his fingers like little prunes.

 

Lance stood to leave but hesitated. 

 

“I don’t think… I don’t know if I’ll see you again,” he said sadly. Hunk was the nicest boy he’d ever met- ever if he was half fish. 

 

Hunk nodded solemnly, “I’ll wait for you instead, okay?” 

 

Lance nodded, feeling tears prick his eyes once more. 

 

He held out a hand, “Shake on it?” Hunk reached out his hand and interlaced his fingers with Lance, shaking the hand awkwardly. 

 

“Er-” said Lance, he smiled a little, “We’ll work on it.” Never unlacing their fingers, Hunk pulled Lance into a very wet hug. Lance squeezed Hunk’s hand one last time. 

 

“I’ll find you again! I promise, okay!” Lance waved at Hunk and jogged back to his family. 

When he looked back at the boardwalk, Hunk was nowhere to be seen. 

  
  


Lance’s family never moved back to Montecito, but ten years later he returned to attend Santa Barbara City College. He had forgotten his promise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance consumes questionable tacos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao this is my life now,,taco related plot devices
> 
> Please comment and tell me what you think! 
> 
> My tumblr is @fishfingersandscarves

Lance crunched his lollipop and wiggled the stick between his teeth. He sighed dramatically and flopped over his laptop. 

 

“I can’t do it Pidge,” he whined, nose crushed against the computer.

 

“Oh, for fuckssake Lance calm down,” said Pidge from behind their huge book on Programming. 

 

“Here, just… Lemme read you some flash cards or find an old practice test online.” Pidge closed their book and pulled the laptop out from under Lance’s defeated body. 

 

“Standard College Biology test samples; there Googled! Now stop whining and get up, the only way to pass is to study.” Lance groaned and flopped back across his chair. Pidge and Lance had been study partners for almost an entire year now and still Lance was suffering.

 

He was doing fine in his major- Biology and Marine Biology- but, he always  _ hated  _ studying. Pidge just said he was lazy- they were probably right. 

 

“Okay…” they said, adjusted their glasses and looked over the computer at Lance, “What’s the most common serious genetic disease in the US?” 

 

“Cystic fibrosis- easy. Give me something about the ocean, Pidge.”

 

Pidge rolled their eyes, “Okay, okay, don’t get your panties in a twist… Just, gimme a sec. Okay, uh. What’s mutualism?” Lance turned around in his chair and faced Pidge. 

 

They were in the library for the fourth time that week, this next test was a big one. 

 

“Mutualism is… um… a symbiotic relationship that benefits…  _ both! _ Did I say both? …. Both organisms, like a clown fish and a sea anemone.” 

 

“Nice, dude,” Pidge said, then handed the laptop back to Lance and hauled their Programming book back into their bag.

 

“Well, as great as this study session has been, I’d prefer to sleep  _ before  _ 2 am today so… Bye.” Pidge hoisted the bag over their shoulder and began to leave. 

 

“Oh yeah! Almost forgot- tomorrows Saturday, Lance, you wanna come down to the beach with me and some friends?”

 

Lance side-eyed Pidge carefully, “ _ Which  _ friends?” Pidge gave him a flat look, “Shiro, Allura, and Keith.” Lance scrunched up his nose. Why would he want to go to the beach with Keith? The guy never tried to talk to him and never washed his hair. But, then again, the  _ beach. _ Lance figured it was worth the pain of seeing disgusting hair.

 

“Sure,” he said, “But, tell Keith to take a fucking shower! That guy...like... sweats grease!”

 

“Yeah, yeah…” said Pidge, “See ya.” Pidge left the library, and Lance was left to himself. 

 

The next day came and Lance grabbed his huge floppy hat that Marci had worn at her graduation and left the dorm early. The five met together outside the main doors to the Uni (which was inconvenient to everyone but them) and deliberated on where to go from there. 

 

“There’s the Aquarium out on the boardwalk,” Shiro suggested, “We could all carpool in Allura’s car.”

 

“No, Shiro, my car only fits four, remember?” said Allura, she was decked in a sundress and ready to  _ go.  _ “I don’t have a car.” Keith said grumpily, “But, I’ll ride in yours Allura.”

 

“I’ve got a car, I could drive myself,” said Lance as he handed Pidge some sunscreen, “It’s fine, really. Look we’ll all park on the boardwalk, it’ll be fine.” 

 

-

 

Finally they arrived.

 

Almost at once Lance’s spirits lifted.

 

He could smell the salt in the air and taste the sea. It was a bright day and the wind blew tentatively throughout the boardwalk, caressing the tourists and locals with cool air. Together the five went to the Aquarium and looked at tiny jellyfish and stingrays and other slimy yet beautiful creatures. Shiro and Pidge stayed in the science area for a solid hour, and Lance could not refuse the opportunity to make jokes about the dead dolphin that was upstairs. Lance stared at the taxidermied dolphin. 

 

“You know,” he said, turning from the dolphin to look out the giant window, “I used to think mermaids were real.”

 

Pidge snorted, “No way,” they said.

 

“Yes way,” said Lance, “When I was like, I dunno, nine or something I swore I met a mermaid. I talked about it for two whole months before my brother told me to shut up.”

 

“Wow…” said Pidge, “thats hilarious. Were you also really into H2O and The Thirteenth Year or was it like, not even a phase.” 

 

“Not a phase dude, just like coming out wasn’t a phase,  _ but _ I’m pretty sure its what got me into Marine Biology, you know? Discovering cool looking fish and shit.” Pidge made a committal noise. 

 

“Wait, you liked mermaids when you were little?” said a goading voice. Keith had finally emerged from the jellyfish room. 

 

“Fuck you, Kogane.” 

 

-

 

Finally, after Allura pulled Keith away from the gift shop- for some reason he wanted to buy a stuffed manatee- they left the Aquarium to go find some lunch and go down to the beach. 

 

“I want tacos,” said Lance, he squinted in the glaring sun, “It’s California and I need some classic Cali tacos.” 

 

“I’m pretty sure they only serve fish and chips on the boardwalk,” said Keith flatly, his mood had been less than positive ever since his attempt to buy the manatee. 

 

“Well, I don’t want fish and chips, I want tacos,” Lance checked his wallet, “ _ And  _ I’ve got enough to buy myself lunch- you go on without me- I’m going to find those tacos.” Allura and Shiro looked at each other and shrugged.

 

“Suit yourself,” said Pidge, “As for me- I vote fish, chips, then ice cream.” So the group split up, the four to lunch and Lance to his mission. He wandered around for a bit, taking in the sights of the boardwalk and the glittering ocean, but finally,  _ oh finally _ , he found the taco stand of his dreams.

 

It was in a pretty inconvenient space, wedged between the sweets shop and the fortune teller’s booth, but overall looked very promising. There was a giant cartoon fish sign wearing sunglasses and an older woman working at the counter. Just the kind of bullshit he wanted to eat right now. Lance stepped closer and the enticing smell of grilled fish wafted through the air. Aw man, he was  _ so  _ hungry.

 

“Hello,” said the woman at the counter, her bright eyes flashing, her voice was gravely and made her sound like a super villain in some 80’s anime, “What can I get for you today?” Lance looked over the menu, there was nothing he recognized… Well, he figured it was time to try something new. 

 

“That one,” he pointed to the taco that had a picture of a very large breasted mermaid, he was in the mermaid mood after reminiscing with Pidge. 

 

“Ah, coming right up,” said the woman and she turned away.

 

At last, the tacos came and they smelled delicious. Lance decided to wait to eat them and walked down from the boardwalk onto the beach. The others wouldn’t mind, he was an adult, he could eat tacos under a boardwalk if he wanted to. But, really he wanted shade and privacy to think, after the mermaid conversation something had been bothering him. 

 

What had he seen that day? He couldn’t really remember, it had been ten years ago but, there was a terrible nagging sensation in his mind that he was forgetting something vital. Lance munched on his mermaid tacos and stared out at the ocean. As he was eating, his feet started to hurt from the sun so Lance kicked off his sandals. 

 

No one was near the boardwalk so it was relatively quiet, only the sound of seagulls and the crunch of his lunch filled the air. Lance’s legs started to feel really stiff after a while, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to dip his toes in the water so he scooted closer to where the waves rolled under the boardwalk. Huh, his feet felt even stiffer now that they were in the water, Lance finished his tacos and put the plate on the sand next to him. He’d throw it out later.

 

Lance looked down at his feet in the water, except, they weren’t feet.

 

“What the fuck,” said Lance. His feet were gone and in their place was a very shiny, very fish-like tail.

 

“What the  _ fuck _ ,” he said, louder this time.

 

He did  _ not  _ understand what was happening. Okay, he was eating tacos, and now he’s, what? Turning into a mermaid? That did  _ not  _ make sense! 

 

Lance started to panic. 

 

He was wearing pants, where were those gonna go? How would he breath air?  _ Would  _ he be able to breath air? Was this a natural thing? Who was controlling the transformation if it was a who? Would he still have a dick? How was he going to  _ pee _ ? 

 

He was hyperventilating quickly, which was not helping, and his body up to his knees was now a tail. 

 

The side of his mind that was rational was freaking out, but the side of his mind that loved Marine Biology was giddy. He could examine common species without a tank or scuba! This was a gift from the Biology God. 

 

Soon his entire lower half was covered in vivid blue and orange scales, kind of like a Dragonet. Lance closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Maybe he was having a food poisoning induced dream? But, no such luck, when he looked again the tail was still there and his pants were gone. 

 

“Well, fuck,” Lance said, “Screw it then.” 

 

He pulled off his tank top and placed Marci’s old hat on top of it, praying that no one would steal it or that it would blow away.

 

“Guess, I better… get in the water, huh,” Lance said to no one in particular.

 

He didn’t exactly want to end up as a government experiment. He scooted into the water and kept scooting until he was far enough out to test out his tail. His  _ tail.  _

 

Well, there went his non-existent dance career. 

 

He flicked it a couple times and dove into the water. He opened his mouth and took a deep breath. It felt like breathing in cool air.(it tasted a little like salt) 

 

Lance looked worriedly down at his body. 

 

What was he going to do  _ now? _


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stress and swimming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao lance is stressed,,,
> 
> thank you for such positive feedback! 
> 
> If you want to talk about the fic, come over to my ask box on tumblr @fishfingerandscarves
> 
> Please comment and tell me what you think!

Lance was trying to stay calm. 

 

It wasn’t working. 

 

Once he had swam out into deep water it really hit him that this had actually happened, that he had turned into a mermaid. Not exactly what he wanted from life right now. 

 

Lance swam in a circle, not really sure where to go. Every once in awhile he swam up to the surface and took a huge gulp of air because he wasn’t sure if being a mermaid constituted whether he could drown or not. He hoped he wouldn’t find out. 

 

Although there were multiple downsides to this situation (being reported missing, no contact with his friends, missing his test on Monday, getting caught and experimented on) he admitted that is was pretty cool after you get over the initial shock. 

 

Lance’s tail was covered into orange and blue scales and moved fluidly through the water like he’d been swimming all his life. He didn’t know if that was a by-product of the change, just like the (maybe) breathing underwater thing. 

 

Lance swam to the surface again and looked around, he was  _ really  _ far away from the shore, so far in fact, that Catalina Island looked closer than the boardwalk. By that judgment he could assume he was  _ really  _ out West from the coast. 

 

This concerned him. 

 

Lance dove back down and stared swimming in a circle, kind of pacing underwater. 

 

How could he get his legs back? Where there other mermaids? Obviously they were real  _ now _ . Did this mean when he was little he actually met a mermaid? Nah, it couldn’t be, but, now as he thought about it… It seemed like the smartest course of action was to find that one and make them help him. But, where the fuck would a mermaid live? 

 

Lance dragged a hand over his face and through his floating hair. (His ears had changed too? Oh for fuckssake.) “Ugh…” he groaned, his voice was surprisingly easy to hear underwater, usually only bubbles came out, but, he guessed it was because now he didn’t just breath air but filtered it? Who knew what had changed inside his body. 

 

Lance swam back up one more time and stared at Catalina, trying to will it closer.

 

He sighed. 

 

His best chance was to swim near the Island, maybe he would find a coast guard or another mermaid? He’d go from there. 

 

So he began to swim in the Island’s direction, deep enough underwater that no one would see him if there was a boat. 

 

-

 

He soon came across a series of caves near the ocean floor. Lance looked down from where he was swimming. What lived in those? He wondered… He didn’t want to find out though, so he kept swimming. 

 

Soon, as he came closer and closer to Catalina, he realized something was following him.

 

At this point, it was no use to shake it off, he just hoped it wasn’t a shark that accidentally thought he was a seal or something. 

 

Up until the mysterious creature started following him, Lance hadn’t been really  _ focused _ on the marine life, but now seemed like the best time as any before his imminent doom. Lance looked ahead, there were probably hundreds of fish around him, all of different colors and varied shapes. 

 

Occasionally, a sea lion would swim past, too preoccupied by hunting their prey to observe a 19 year old turned mermaid. Or maybe they were just used to it. 

 

Now, Lance was getting tired, and Catalina wasn’t getting any closer. He slowed to a halt. He just wished whatever was following would get it over quickly. He could practically hear the water shift as the thing came closer. 

 

Lance steeled himself for the end. It tapped his shoulder. This was going to be the most underwhelming death ever…  _ Well, fuck it, why not _ , he thought, and turned around. 

 

It was a large, dark skinned mermaid. 

 

Somehow, they were familiar, though Lance could not remember from where. The mermaid swam closer, so close that their noses almost touched. Lance stared right into their eyes, a beautiful shade of brown like mahogany or amber. They seemed to be contemplating something. Then their eyes widened and the mermaid grinned. 

 

It made their whole face light up, Lance was suddenly taken by how nice the rippling water made them look. 

 

But, no! 

 

Lance mentally slapped himself. 

 

This was no time to be attracted to strange merpeople. 

 

The mermaid looked over Lance one more time and grinned again.

 

Suddenly, Lance was enveloped in a surprisingly warm hug. 

 

“Um…” Lance said into the mermaid’s soft hair, “Do I know you…?”

 

The mermaid’s face fell, “You don’t… Of course you don’t...” It said somewhat bitterly.

 

“Uh... “ Lance didn’t really know what to say. It was impossible for him to know the mermaid, unless… 

 

No, it couldn’t be… But, here was the proof, the mermaid from his childhood  _ did  _ exist.

 

“Is your name… Hunk?” Lance asked slowly.

 

There was  _ no way _ … 

 

The mermaid stared at Lance and then cracked the biggest grin he’d seen so far. Lance was pulled into another bone crushing embrace. 

 

_ Oh my God, I’m hugging a hot mermaid I knew from my childhood, and  _ I’m  _ a mermaid too,  _ thought Lance.

 

“You do remember!” Hunk cupped Lance’s face with his large hands and Lance felt his cheeks burn. “I recognized you as soon as I saw your face! It’s been so long!” This was too much contact for Lance to deal with along with all his other problems so he squirmed a bit under Hunk’s intent gaze.

 

“Uh… Yeah, I’m really sorry about that. I… my family never moved back,” he said.

 

“But… you’re here now,” said Hunk, “Why are you here? To visit? You passed our caves a while ago- that’s when I saw you.” 

 

“If you might recall,” Lance said, and he took Hunk’s hands and held them down from his face, “I didn’t have fins when we met.” 

 

“Yes. I was wondering about that.” Hunk didn’t let go of his hands. Hunk’s face lit up, “You should come over! Right now! Yeah, this’ll be great!”

 

“What,” said Lance, but it was too late, Hunk had grabbed Lance’s right hand and began to pull him back the way they came. Lance rubbed his free hand over his face. 

  
This was going to be a longer day than he thought.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk and Lance go to the caves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! Yesterday my mom, brother and I went down to Santa Barbara for a work party (my mom's an archaeologist) we went to the Santa Barbara History museum and walked down to the beach after the party. Sadly, we did not have time to go on the boardwalk, but I got some great pictures. (also there are no actual evil taco stands on the boardwalk, sorry to disappoint) 
> 
> Hope you enjoy the story!  
> Please, PLEASE comment if you liked it! :-D Thank you and happy reading!
> 
> wanna talk about the fic?? my ask is always open! http://fishfingersandscarves.tumblr.com/

Hand in hand, Lance and Hunk finally reached the caves. 

 

At first glance, it was pretty clear that they were lived in- just not by mammals. (Or would mermaids be considered mammals? Lance decided he would think about it later.) Kelp rose from the floor and surrounded the caves, hiding them from passing boats and ships.

 

The caves themselves were made of a bright sort of organic crystal, like apatite or hoar frost. From what Lance could see, the caves were littered with other sea life. Hunk guided Lance down, tugging his hand gently as they grew closer to the left-most cave.

 

“We’re almost there,” said Hunk as they traveled through the left cave, “It’s ..uh.. Not in the  _ cleanest  _ shape but,” Hunk laughed self-consciously, “You don’t mind do you?”

 

“What- oh, no, not at all,” said Lance, he had been focusing more on the hand in his.

 

“Sometimes a string ray or two may swim through, don’t worry! We ignore them and they ignore us, it’s kind of a mutual thing.”

 

Lance stared ahead and swam. His mind was swimming with too many thoughts at once, most of them were either fish related puns or extremely escalated scenarios that involved him drowning. He narrowed his thoughts down to two options: see Hunk’s home and then leave, find some way to contact Shiro- he’d probably take the situation pretty well- and then work from there,  _ or   _ he could see Hunk’s home and then ask him to help with the whole ‘I got turned into a mermaid thing.’ Lance sighed and a copious amount of bubbles came out of his mouth. 

 

Suddenly, Hunk stopped swimming. 

 

“Here we are!” he proclaimed proudly and gestured with his free hand, “Home, sweet home!” 

 

Hunk’s cave looked like… well, a cave. It was hollow and had a high ceiling and some kelp grew from the ground out through holes in the top. There were, however, very obvious personal touches, some waterlogged tech sat in the corner, there was an old sea chest and a makeshift table. 

 

“Dude, where do you sleep?” said Lance, looking for a bed or some kind of flat surface. Hunk pointed to a pile of rocks in the corner, “That’s the warmest place at night, but everywhere really.” Lance raised an eyebrow.

 

“So,” said Hunk, he swam close to Lance’s face, “what do you think?” Lance felt a blush rise to his face, “It looks great.” 

 

Hunk grinned and tugged Lance to his tech corner, “This is where I work most of the time. We- well, mostly, me- collect old tech from sunken ships and stuff, I’ve been trying to reprogram this,” he pointed to what looked like an old radar scanner, “to find the wrecks so we can access them more easily.”

 

“Hunk, where did you learn all of this? Is there, like, a college for fish?” Lance looked down at the tech in amazement. Pidge would probably be able to help Hunk out… Once he got his legs back he could tell them about this and maybe Hunk and Pidge could work together? Lance could see them being friends.

 

“No, I just…” Hunk turned a deep red, “I taught myself.”

 

“No. Way. That’s amazing!” said Lance, “Dude, if you had legs you could totally come on campus and just dick around with the equipment in the tech lab, you’d probably invent a computer that solves racism or some shit.”

 

“Really? You think so?” Hunk said quietly. Lance squeezed his hand, “Yeah.” They floated in silence, looking at each other. 

 

Lance coughed. 

 

“So, you’re not at all questioning the tail thing? Because I am concerned about it.” said Lance. “Yeah, uh, I was wondering about that, sorry I just got really excited to show you the caves. Why  _ do  _ you have a tail?” Lance told Hunk what happened, starting with the day at the beach and the shady taco lady. 

 

“Wow” said Hunk, “I think… I know someone we could talk to.” 

 

Lance’s eyes widened, “ _ Really?  _ Oh my God, yes. Can we find them here?”

 

“Oh yeah,” said Hunk, “she lives a couple ways down.” Hunk tugged on Lance’s hand and they left the cave. As they continued down the cave, it struck Lance just how  _ absurd  _ his whole situation was (and slightly scary.) Here he was, holding hands with a mermaid, while he himself was a mermaid, swimming to  _ another mermaid _ to make him stop being a mermaid. If he wasn’t so worried about changing back he probably would have laughed. 

 

At last, they reached the other cave, inside was a girl, or at least she looked like a girl. (Hunk had said  _ she _ ) She had a tail completely different from Hunk’s and Lance’s own, she was practically half octopus. She had huge hoops in her fins that looked to be made of either metal or really shiny rock and her hair floated around her face like a brown halo. 

 

“Hey, Shay!” said Hunk and the mermaid noticed them for the first time.

 

“Hunk! It is so good to see you!” She paused and looked at Lance, “And who is this, if I may inquire?” “Shay, this is Lance. Lance this is Shay. This is- well,  _ was  _ the human I met that one time I swam out to the beach.” Hunk displayed Lance proudly like he was a precious gift. 

 

“Hello,” said Shay kindly, “It is nice to meet you… But, Hunk, you said he was once human? How so?” “Um, I can sorta explain that,” said Lance- he told his story once more.

 

“Curious,” said Shay, her tentacles twisting and twirling underneath her, “I have heard of this before…” 

 

“You have?” Lance and Hunk said together.

 

“Can you help him?” asked Hunk. 

 

“What I have heard is not pleasing to the ear,” said Shay, her tentacles curled tight, “Often times our people will find new variants of our kind- you see, our tails are all the same but, when new people arrive, they do not have our scales but those of other species- the variants come and live with us but often for just a short time before they disappear again or worse…” 

 

“Wait… Shay, what?” Hunk said quietly, he was looking at his own tail with concern, “What do you mean variants? I always thought…” 

 

“I am sorry Hunk,” said Shay, “Rax convinced me it was for your own safety. We have known you since we were small, how could we protect you if you knew the truth?” Lance looked from Shay to Hunk. 

 

“So… You’re telling me… Hunk is actually human… but was turned as a baby?” Shay looked at Lance solemnly, “Perhaps it is so.”

 

She sighed, “I see now that keeping the truth from you was wrong… There is a place near the beach, a kelp forest, there lives an old woman, a sea druid, she could help you.” 

 

Hunk was just staring at his tail, his lip was wavering and his eyes welling with unshed tears.

 

Lance squeezed his hand and Hunk looked up, startled. He probably had forgotten they were holding hands. 

 

“Thank you,” Lance said to Shay. “If it doesn’t work we’ll come back.” 

 

Shay nodded, she cast a sad look at Hunk and then pulled both of them into a very tentacle ridden hug.

 

“Keep him safe,” she whispered.

 

Lance nodded. 

  
Soon they were gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sea druids and Kelp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the wonderful feedback! Please continue leaving comments!
> 
> Wanna talk about the fic? My ask box is always open! http://fishfingersandscarves.tumblr.com/

“Hunk, buddy, do you….do you want to talk about it?” Lance said. 

 

He was worried.

 

They had been swimming towards the kelp forest for a while now and had long stopped holding hands, Hunk still had a haunted look about him and he hadn’t said a word yet. 

 

Hunk slowed down and began swimming upward. Reluctantly, Lance followed him to the surface. Hunk stared at the thin outline of the mainland, his expression was indiscernible.

 

“Hunk?” Lance said softly. The waves lapped against his chin and he realized that it was almost sunset. They tread water in silence. 

 

“I didn’t know…” Hunk said quietly, “I didn’t realize…” He let out a shuddering breath and laughed, it was a humorless, hollow thing. 

 

“You’d think I’d figure it out, huh? But, there were others so I never thought… I  _ never  _ thought....” 

 

Hunk began to shake softly, Lance swam closer and faced Hunk, to see him crying silently. 

 

Lance panicked.

 

He didn’t want to just swim here while his friend cried, that would make him such an asshole! So, Lance swam forward and pulled Hunk into a (admittedly a bit awkward) embrace. 

 

He patted Hunk’s back, “It’s okay, buddy, I’m here for you,” he said over the rush of the waves, “I got you, it’s fine. We’ll deal with this together.” They floated silently together, just relishing in the other’s presence. After a while, Lance pulled away slowly and looked at Hunk, and cupping his cheek, he said, “You feel better?”

 

Hunk sniffed loudly, “Yeah,” he said shakily and placed his hand over Lance’s, interlacing their fingers. 

 

“Thanks.” Lance coughed loudly, his face red as a beet, “Yes, well… Let’s go!” he exclaimed and the two dove back down into the water.

-

 

After some ten minutes more of swimming they finally reached the kelp forest. It was musty and really green, like someone had dumped paint into the ocean (or the toxic waste you see in comic books.) Honestly, Lance was surprised it wasn’t darker or more ominous, in fact, he had  _ totally  _ expected the place to be shady like a supervillain fortress.

 

“So…” said Lance, breaking the silence, “We’re looking for an old lady… Shouldn’t be that hard, right?”

 

“Well, you never know,” said Hunk, he was squinting through the kelp forest, there was just too much green, “She might be able to camouflage or something.” 

 

“That-” Lance began, then paused, “actually makes a lot of sense...:” Hunk smiled and shrugged, “And who knows what else is out here? Aside from otters.”

 

“Who knows….” Lance looked around again and only saw kelp, and then more fucking kelp. Was there nothing but kelp in the kelp forest?! Nevermind, he probably should have expected it. Suddenly, Lance felt something tug on his tail, he whipped his head in Hunk direction. 

 

“Did you just…” Lance began, but he didn’t really know how to phrase the question so he just let it hang. 

 

“Do what?” asked Hunk, “What are you talking abou-” Hunk looked back swiftly, eyes wide.

 

Lance swam closer to Hunk. 

 

“Should we just keep going?” he whispered. “I don’t know,” said Hunk. “It could be the sea druid fucking with us,” Lance swallowed dryly, he hoped it was the sea druid.

 

“I do have ears,” said a voice from behind them. 

 

“Oh boy.” Lance heard Hunk whisper. 

 

They turned around. Swimming in the water, was a woman with flowing white hair and cloudy eyes who looked suspiciously like the vague memories Lance had of the taco lady, but he wasn’t sure. 

 

“Are you… the sea druid?” Hunk asked tentatively. The old woman nodded. She had curling octopus tentacles similar to Shay’s.  _ An actual mermaid, then.  _ Lance thought. 

 

“Can you help us?” Hunk continued, “My friend and I were turned into mermaids and would like our legs back.” Lance looked at Hunk, his eyes widening. 

 

Hunk wanted to be turned human too? But, where would he live? Did he even have a concept of currency? How would he function in basic society? Ugh, it was just… too many thoughts and anxieties at once. Lance pushed them to the back of his head- he’d burn that bridge when they got there.

 

The sea druid gazed at Lance and Hunk intensely.

 

“I will help you…” she said, her voice was low and creaked like a rotting ship, “But, there is a price.” Hunk looked at Lance, inquiring silently.

 

His eyes seemed to say “ _ Should we? _ ” 

 

Lance nodded.

 

What other choice did they have? 

 

“What do you want?” Hunk said cautiously. 

 

“One scale, from each of you.” 

 

“Okay…?” Lance said. 

 

There wasn’t any harm in giving her a scale right? 

 

He looked down at his shining blue and orange tail. There was a scale overlapping all the others near his hip. He reached down and pulled it off quickly. 

 

Lance cried out, it felt like tearing off thick skin, looking down he could see blood swirling in the water where the scale once was. 

 

Together, Hunk and Lance gave the druid their scales. She clasped her hands together and for a moment Lance thought she was going to pray. (To what, he had no clue) But, then her hands began to glow. 

 

Suddenly, Lance was engulfed in a beam a bright light and he felt the stiffness in his limbs occur once more. There was a horrible sound from below that sounded like ripping velcro and then almost instantly, he couldn’t breathe. 

 

Eyes widening, he grabbed Hunk’s hand without a second thought and started swimming to the surface. 

 

Hunk was heavy, and apparently, only good at swimming when he had gills, so the guy was  _ not  _ making Lance’s life easier. Finally, they broke to the surface and Lance leaned back and floated on the water. He took a deep breath. And then another.

 

Then, a terrible thought burst through the peace in his mind-  _ was he wearing pants?  _

 

Looking down, thankfully, he did not have a nasty surprise and was in fact, wearing the pants he had put on that morning. (Though they were a thousand times more wet than when the day started. Lance looked over at Hunk, who had mimicked Lance’s pose and was staring at the sky quietly. 

 

Lance took a moment to study Hunk’s face. His soaked hair, his round nose and strong chin, his ears… 

 

“Your ears are normal!” Lance blurted out. 

 

“What?” said Hunk. He brought a hand to his ear.

 

“Huh.” he said. 

 

“Huh?” Lance said, “You just turned into a human and your first thought is ‘huh?’” 

 

“Well, I wasn’t exactly thinking about my ears.” Hunk said, “I was thinking about these.” Hunk pointed to some board shorts that hugged him loosely about the hips.  _ She gave him pants.  _ Lance was gonna cry for joy. 

 

He stared at Hunk, realizing not for the first time how absurd his whole situation was. Lance snorted and began to laugh. Hunk turned red. 

 

“W-What?” he asked, “Is there something wrong with them?” 

 

“No-” Lance gasped, “No- you’re perfect.” 

 

There was a beat.

 

Both of them turned red.

 

“Ah, well… I guess we should… start swimming to the beach?” Lance looked past Hunk towards the beach and boardwalk. It wasn’t that far away. They could probably make it before it became really dark.

 

“Oh- Okay,” Hunk said, copying Lance as he slid back and began treading water.

 

“Here.” Lance held out his hand and smiled at Hunk.

 

“Together?”.

 

Hunk took his hand and grinned. 

  
“Together.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little fluffy interlude to plot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just some filler til i work out more plot! Enjoy! Also school starts for me today so do not expect frequent updates (RIP) 
> 
> Special thanks to my friend An who made a gif inspired by this fic for an art trade:  
> http://nwarrior777.tumblr.com/post/149323068100/this-gif-was-inspired-by-fishfingersandscarves
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please if you want to talk about the fic my ask box is always open! http://fishfingersandscarves.tumblr.com/
> 
> Please leave a comment! Thank you!

Lance looked around his dorm room. 

 

He had a dilemma. 

 

They had gotten back to shore pretty okay, In fact, Lance had even found his shirt, hat, and cell phone on the beach under the boardwalk. (Apparently his cell had fallen out of his pant pocket before the transformation- thank God) After calling back Shiro and assuring him he  _ wasn’t  _ dead or kidnapped, he got his car keys and walked with Hunk to the boardwalk. (It was more of a slow crawl) But, now that they were back at the Uni, Lance had a problem.

 

He had an ex-mermaid in his care and one bed. 

 

Knowing that Hunk had slept on rocks all his life didn’t make it any easier- Lance had a sneaking suspicion that if he offered the bed Hunk would insist that he sleep on the floor. But, screw it, his Mamá raised him to be polite and damned if he didn’t try. 

 

“Hey, Hunk?” Lance said. Hunk looked up from where he was examining Lance’s laptop. 

 

“It’s pretty late and I was thinking that it’d probably be better if I slept on the floor since you’ve only ever slept on rocks so… You wanna use the bed?” 

 

“No, no, no! It’s fine really!” Hunk said, waving his hands somewhat frantically. 

 

“No, man I’m serious!” Lance said, stepping closer to Hunk, “You used to sleep on rocks.  _ Rocks. _ You need to experience a comfy -albeit sort of stiff- bed!” 

 

Hunk huffed and glanced at the bed. 

 

“Fine,” he said, “But, you can’t just sleep on the floor! It isn’t polite” 

 

Lance stared at Hunk. 

 

Polite? 

 

_ Hunk  _ was the guest, not him! 

 

“No, dude.” 

 

“Then I’m not sleeping on the bed!” 

 

Hunk crossed his arms in a pout that a tiny part of Lance’s mind told him was cute.

 

“Ugh, seriously?!” 

 

“Yup!”

 

They stared at each other. 

 

“Well then how about we share the bed?!” Lance threw up both hands in exasperation. 

 

“Fine!” Hunk said, he got up and plopped on the bed, pulling back the sheets, he passive aggressively patted the spot next to him, “Here you go!” 

 

“Okay!” Lance sat on the bed and rubbed his face in frustration. 

 

They sat in silence on the bed as what just happened slowly sank in.

 

“Um... “ Lance coughed, trying to hide his blush.

 

“Goodnight.” He turned away from the other boy, pulled up the covers and stared at the floor.

 

Lance tried to sleep, he really did, but not focusing on Hunk’s presence was hard, especially since the boy was so close and radiated so much heat. It was like a furnace, and Lance was one of those people who are always cold. He wanted to snuggle. Bad. But no! He had to be strong. It would be awkward if they cuddled. It’d been like, what? A day? Not even a full 24 hours.

 

Lance tucked his knees in tight and shut his eyes forcefully. In the morning he’d had to figure something out… 

 

-

 

Lance woke up to an arm tucked securely around his waist. He blinked but did not get up, reluctant to lose the warmth on his back. Slowly, memories from the day before crept back into his mind until it finally clicked just  _ whose _ arm was tucked around his waist. 

 

Lance turned crimson.

 

_ Ohhh my God  _ Lance’s mind was making little alarm sounds.  _ Hunk is spooning me! I’m spooning Hunk!  _ Lance thought, millions of thoughts racing through his mind. 

 

Was this okay? Was Hunk awake? He wasn’t sure- he couldn’t tell… Maybe if he turned around? 

 

Lance shifted a bit where he lay, rolling onto his back with all the grace of a beached whale. He turned around to finally face Hunk. 

 

He  _ looked  _ asleep. 

 

Lance narrowed his eyes at the boy, suspicious. Hunk’s cheeks were dusted ever so lightly with freckles. His long dark hair fell softly over his round face and his broad shoulders were free of all tension. He looked peaceful, and definitely asleep.

 

After a moment, Lance figured it wasn’t such a big deal. 

 

After all, when was he ever gonna get to do this again? 

 

So, Lance closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

 

Hunk cracked an eye open, and did not.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot sorta begins, but mostly its gay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just in time for hanceomeweek is another update! 
> 
> Thank you so SO much for all the fic recs and bookmarks! It really makes me smile!
> 
> Feel free to leave an ask in my askbox if you wanna talk about the fic!
> 
> Please leave a comment!
> 
> my tumblr is http://fishfingersandscarves.tumblr.com/

 

Hunk laid on his side in contemplative silence. 

 

He was human now, that much was sure. He had legs, and other parts as well. Still, the sea druid’s price lingered at the back of his mind. 

 

Why  _ one _ scale? 

 

He wished it wouldn’t bother him so and yet, as each second passed the thought lingered louder in the back of his mind. In all his years under the sea, he had never heard of the sea druid. He thought back to Shay, the hesitation that ebbed off her when she mentioned the kelp forest. 

 

Yet, since  _ he _ had never heard of her, whose to say Shay had? It was painfully obvious now that Rax and Shay had been keeping secrets from him. 

 

He squeezed his eyes closed. 

 

Was this the right decision? 

 

He couldn’t say for sure. 

 

Lance shifted in his sleep, drawing Hunk closer in his grasp. 

 

And yet… even if it wasn’t the _ right  _ decision- Hunk looked down at Lance, his face free of tension, dappled with light from the morning sun- it was a good one.

 

-

 

Later, (Hunk could not say exactly, his sense of time was still hazy after living underwater for so long) Lance woke up. It was a gradual waking, slow and billowing like swirling ink underwater. 

 

Hunk watched Lance open his eyes slowly, recognition seeping into his gaze like a growing coral. 

 

Lance blinked. 

 

Once.

 

Twice.

 

Then, his dark skin grew pink in the morning light, the boy’s cheeks radiating heat so intensely Hunk could feel it on his chest. 

 

They were so close…

 

“Ah..um..” 

 

Lance pushed away from Hunk and almost fell off the bed, catching himself with a hand on the ground, he looked up at Hunk from his strange angle. 

 

“Good morning-” 

 

Hunk watched curiously as Lance tried to maneuver his body off the bed safely- and fail. The boy groaned as his head hit the floor. From Hunk’s position it looked like he was trying to sit upside down- or crush his neck. 

 

Hunk crawled to the edge of the bed. 

 

“You need help there?” Lance’s legs flailed furiously as he shouted a impertinent  _ No!  _ And then proceeded to slide further back on the floor.

 

Hunk smiled. 

 

Lance opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of ringing.

 

Hunk looked curiously towards the sound. 

 

There on the nightstand was the device Lance had used last night- a communicator, Hunk assumed- it rang and occasionally blinked a bright light that illuminated the ceiling. 

 

“Oh shit…” Lance mumbled, he rolled over and crawled to the nightstand, grabbing the communicator and pressing it to his ear.

 

“Whaaaat?” He dragged a hand over his face.

 

“Shit- wait, really? You’re serious?” Lance groaned.

 

“Pidge, no I can’t- I have someone over! No!  _ Not like that! _ Can we just. Can we do it tomorrow? No. Pidge, no. You can’t just-” 

The communicator turned off. 

 

Lance put the communicator back on the nightstand and ran a hand through his hair. He looked nervous. 

 

“Ummmm okay” Lance rubbed his hands together and took a deep breath. Hunk kept silent, appreciating the sight. 

 

“My friend, they’re coming over, like, right now.” 

 

“Okay” Hunk shrugged and gave Lance what he hoped was an encouraging smile. 

 

“And you’re fine with this?” He asked, stepping closer.

 

“Because if not I can tell them to go away.”

 

“It’s  _ fine,  _ Lance.” 

 

Lance exhaled loudly.

 

“Okay.”


End file.
